According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, law firm associates are having a hard time figuring out what to wear to the office. The disgruntled partners interviewed for this story told the WSJ that associates are just not getting that suits are still an essential part of good lawyering. Tom Mills, a partner in Winston & Strawn's Washington office, called associate attire "abysmal." (Note the spiffy pocket hanky in Tom Mills' website profile photo -- very sharp!) Renee Brissette, a partner at Manatt Phelps in New York, admitted that she chose to give a coveted assignment to a well-dressed associate instead of to a "brilliant" but slovenly associate who wouldn't improve his attire. And at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, associates who wore their Ugg boots all day allegedly received a note reminding them to "change out of their snow boots" after they arrived at the office.
The bottom line -- if you're working in a mid-sized to large law firm, you should follow your mom's advice and "dress for success" when you have client meetings or courtroom appearances. Wondering what that means? Check out the excellent "Guide to Dressing for Interviews with Legal Employers" (short PDF) for some tips on dressing for important occasions from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law's career services staff. Although the tips were created for OCI, new associates can use them to choose the right wardrobe for the courtroom or boardroom. For those working in a "business casual" office, here are some good tips from Virginia Tech's career services office.
Photo credit: "UGG australia" by chrisjohnbeckett, Creative Commons license.
If I may speak up as the photographer of the UGGs photo at the head of the story (not to be confused with the author of the article), there is a rather sweet irony in the choice of illustration - the wearer of the UGGs is my UK lawyer wife (who wasn't at work at the time).
Posted by: Chris Beckett | January 31, 2008 at 02:23 PM
Slovenly? I wish that no doubt impeccably dressed partner would expound. He is likely to lose that brilliant attorney for someone who knows his bally from his clarks but that would help his client who is facing 20 years in prison. What nonsense!
Posted by: Dee | March 04, 2008 at 06:40 PM